Capitol Week in Review: Surprises and snoozers in municipal primaries

It was an Election Day Tuesday, but turnout was dismal, as it typically is during municipal elections. The primaries were only open to registered Democrats and Republicans, but even within those groups, fewer than 30 percent of eligible voters showed up in most cases. The Capitol Watch civic participation award goes to tiny Voluntown, where there was 41 percent turnout in a Republican primary for first selectman, according to the secretary of the state’s office, the highest of any election Tuesday. A wag of the finger to Republican voters in Ridgefield, where turnout was less than 8 percent in a primary for board of education, which was the lowest in the state. More voters (14 percent) turned up for a Democratic primary for fire commissioner in North Haven. Aside from the big races, which will be covered below, here are a couple of interesting outcomes from Tuesday’s elections, one winner and one loser. First, the winner. “Big” Steve Tracey, a former professional wrestler (and yes that’s how his name appeared on the ballot) won the Republican primary for mayor in East Haven in the race to succeed Joe Maturo. The loser? A.J. Kerouac, in a GOP primary for first selectman in Brooklyn. Yes, he’s a distant relative of the famous author and influential member of the Beat movement.

The big story

Incumbent Mayor Luke Bronin receives a hug from a supporter after his mayoral primary victory at the Polish National Home Tuesday night. (Brad Horrigan / Hartford Courant)

Surprises and snoozers in municipal primaries: The biggest upset in Tuesday’s municipal primaries came in New Haven, where challenger Justin Elicker won a convincing victory over incumbent Mayor Toni Harp. It was the first time in more than three decades that Harp lost an election in the Elm City. Elicker, a former alderman, had challenged her six years ago during her initial run for the city’s top office in a race that proved closer than many expected. Harp can continue her campaign on the Working Families Party line, but most expect her not to challenge Elicker in November. The results in Bridgeport were not as shocking — incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim fended off a challenge from state Sen. Marilyn Moore — but his narrow margin of victory was surprising. Moore actually won in terms of votes cast on voting machines on Tuesday, but Ganim’s huge advantage among absentee ballots pushed him over the top. Moore doesn’t have another ballot line option in November, but she is challenging the election’s outcome and may pursue a write-in campaign. Hartford’s primary proved to be the least exciting of the three big cities. Mayor Luke Bronin easily defeated his two challengers, former Mayor Eddie Perez and state Rep. Brandon McGee. Bronin, who raised $1 million in his reelection campaign, captured nearly 60 percent of the vote. The winners of the primaries are heavily favored to win in November in the three overwhelmingly Democratic cities. Another primary that drew some statewide interest was in Middletown, where 27-year-old Ben Florsheim, an aide to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, won a four-way race. He’ll face former Republican Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, 67, in November in an intriguing generational matchup.

Five things you may have missed

Murphy, Trump continue talks on guns: U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and several of his colleagues had a 40-minute phone call with President Donald Trump Wednesday as they continued negotiations over potential gun background check legislation. It’s at least the second time Murphy and the president have discussed the issue since a pair of mass shootings last month in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that left 31 dead and dozens more wounded. “I’m begging the president to come to the table,” Murphy said. Trump has expressed some support for expanding background checks, but Murphy and other Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, expressed reservation about the influence the National Rifle Association holds over Trump and Republicans in Congress. “I don’t think the president has made up his mind yet,” Murphy said on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon. Universal background checks have broad bipartisan support, according to multiple polls, higher than 90 percent in some cases.

Rotisserie chicken will be taxed, says Senate GOP Leader Len Fasano. “I do not know how you do self-check-out. It’s a mess,” Fasano said. pic.twitter.com/WzYRafYNHf

New taxes at grocery stores: Republican leaders in the General Assembly are crying foul about new taxes on prepared foods sold at grocery stores that are set to begin on Oct. 1. At a news conference Thursday, they highlighted guidance from the state Department of Revenue Services that showed the taxes will be far more widespread than most lawmakers thought. In addition to a 1 percent tax increase on meals sold at restaurants and other eating establishments, there will now be a 7.35 percent tax on a variety of items sold at grocery stores that were previously untaxed. Things like pizza — slices or a whole pie — individual ice cream bars, salads from salad bars, small bags of chips or doughnuts, bagels, muffins or pastries when sold in a quantity of less than six are considered “prepared meals” and therefore the 7.35 percent tax applies. In total, the new taxes, at both grocery stores and eating establishments, are expected to raise more than $100 million over two years.

Tong won’t settle with Purdue: News broke Wednesday of a tentative settlement between Purdue Pharma and nearly two dozen states that have filed lawsuits over the company’s role in fueling the nation’s opioid crisis, but Connecticut is not among the states that has agreed to the deal. Attorney General William Tong’s office has serious doubts about the potential value of the settlement, which has been estimated in the $10 billion to $12 billion range. Tong has not put a price tag on what he thinks the company owes, but he has said that he would accept nothing short of total liquidation of Purdue and a mandate that the Sackler family that owns the company no longer be allowed to be involved in any pharmaceutical dealings. Connecticut’s lawsuit alleges the Sacklers and Purdue executives knew painkillers like Oxycontin were addictive but aggressively marketed the drugs anyway, helping to contribute to a surge in overdose deaths.

Special session: Lawmakers hope to meet in a special session this fall, but exactly what they’ll tackle isn’t clear. House Democrats were told to keep Sept. 25 and 26 free on their calendars, but now no session is expected this month as negotiations continue on several complex topics. The issue that seems most likely to be up for a vote is a settlement with Connecticut hospitals regarding a lawsuit they filed over state taxes. Former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy had a long-running clash with the hospitals, but Gov. Ned Lamont has said he wants to settle the lawsuit and move on. The two sides have reached a tentative agreement, but the language is still being examined by lawyers. Lawmakers already agreed to set aside more than $160 million from the past fiscal year’s surplus to settle the lawsuit. Other issues that may be addressed in special session include legislation regarding restaurant wages and the annual bond package of construction projects. No vote on tolls is expected any time soon.

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Lamont relative leaves state job: A relative of the governor resigned from his job as a personal assistant to Lamont after Hearst Connecticut Media reported the family connection. Charles Lamont Wolcott resigned from the $52,000-a-year “bodyman” position Wednesday, shortly after taking the job and a day after Hearst reported on the hiring of Wolcott, who is the son of the governor’s cousin. The 35-year-old Wolcott, who often performs as a rapper under the name MC One Con, removed a series of videos from his YouTube channel this week. Hearst said the videos contained vulgar content. Lamont’s office had defended the hiring, saying Wolcott was qualified for the position and served in the same job during Lamont’s campaign last year. Max Reiss, a spokesman for Lamont, said Wolcott resigned after expressing concern about his job and “having attention drawn to his previous work in the music industry.”

Odds and ends

Polish President Andrzej Duda will visit New Britain on Sept. 22 and give a public speech at Walnut Hill Park about strengthening Polish-U.S. relations. “He’s very popular in Poland and in the Polish-American community in the U.S., so I think there could be tens of thousands of people,” said New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart. Duda, who ran as a member of the right-wing nationalist Law and Justice party in 2015, is on friendly terms with Trump and met with Vice President Mike Pence earlier this month when Pence visited Poland. Trump had planned to make the trip but returned to the U.S. after the G7 summit as Hurricane Dorian approached. … Rep. John Larson hasn’t given up on his bold plan to tunnel I-91 and I-84 through Hartford, cutting down on traffic congestion and opening up valuable riverfront land for development. He held a news conference along the Connecticut River Friday morning to drum up support for the project, which could cost in excess of $10 billion. Larson brought with him Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the chairman of the House transportation committee. But DeFazio was already in town for Larson’s famous bocce tournament. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was also in Connecticut Friday and was expected to attend. … Blumenthal may have a high profile as U.S. senator, but there’s no doubt that actor Chris Evans, whom he met with on Thursday, is far more well-known. Evans, who plays Captain America in the Marvel movies, interviewed Blumenthal, who posted to Twitter about their meeting. It was unclear what the interview was regarding, but Evans, like Blumenthal, supports stronger gun laws. … A meeting of the State Bond Commission will be held Tuesday, but Lamont is sticking to his so-called debt diet to restrict state borrowing. The agenda includes funding for things like school construction, but the types of local projects in lawmakers’ home districts that were approved in the past were not part of the agenda. One item that was included, and important to many homeowners in north-central and eastern Connecticut, was another round of funding for the insurance company that is helping people with crumbling concrete foundations pay for expensive repairs. … Connecticut House Republicans have hired political operative Bill Evans of Wolcott to their caucus staff, according to a report from Courant columnist Kevin Rennie. Evans has worked on many GOP campaigns, most recently with David Stemerman in last year’s Republican primary for governor. Stemerman finished third in the voting.